Instagram combines IGTV and feed videos in one format; introduces a new video tab

San Francisco: Instagram is taking another step toward its larger goal of making video a more central part of its experience by combining IGTV's long-form video and Instagram Feed videos into a new format called "Instagram Video."

The company said that it is also introducing a new Video tab on your profile, where this combined video format will live, to make it easier for people to discover new video content.

"We love that our creator community has embraced video as a key format to tell their stories, entertain and connect with their audiences and that's why we want to make it even simpler to create and discover videos on Instagram," the company said in a blogpost.

"IGTV and feed videos will now be one format. You can still upload videos in the same way from the camera roll by clicking on the + sign in the top right corner of the Instagram home page and selecting Post," it added.

The company is also introducing new features like trimming, filters and people and location tagging. Creators can continue to cross-post their videos through Stories and share via direct message.

Video previews in feed will now be 60 seconds long, unless the video is eligible for ads -- in which case, the preview will still be 15 seconds.

The new Video tab will be the home for this combined video format, making it easier for people to find content from creators they love.

When watching videos on Instagram, viewers can tap anywhere on the video to enter fullscreen. They will also have the option to keep scrolling to discover new video content from creators that may interest them.

"To make it easier to understand how videos are performing, we're merging feed post insights and video insights into one combined metric for businesses and creators," the company said.

With Instagram Video, IGTV ads are now called Instagram In-Stream video ads. Eligible creators can still monetize their long-form content, and brands can reach audiences engaging with long-form video.

For businesses interested in boosting their videos to reach more people, videos must be no longer than 60 seconds in length.